Competence in on-call physiotherapy part one: designing a framework

The Association of Physiotherapists in Respiratory Care identified concerns among its members regarding perceived variability of practice in the delivery of on-call physiotherapy. They responded by developing a national set of guidelines on competence and its assessment in cardiorespiratory physiotherapy. This is the first of a series of two articles concerning this project. Competency models are discussed and a proposal for adding specific competencies within a generic framework is outlined, which will form the basis for the project. The second article will discuss the project itself and issues around the development of the guidelines.